Sabdariffa rostellata Mwachala & R. L. Barrett 2025, comb. nov.

Sabdariffa rostellata (Guill. & Perr.) Mwachala & R.L.Barrett, comb. nov. (Fig. 26 a, b.) Hibiscus rostellatus Guill. & Perr. in Guill., Perr., & A. Rich., Fl. Seneg. Tent. 1: 55–56 (1831); Hibiscus surattensis var. rostellatus (Guill. & Perr.) Hochr., Annuaire Conserv. Jard. Bot. Genève 4: 113 (1900). Type citation: ‘ Crescit in paludosis circà Kounoun in peninsulâ Promontorii-Viridis. Floret à Septembre ad Martium. ’ Type: Senegal: G. S. Perrottet (lecto, designated by F. D.Wilson, Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. London (Botany) 29(1): 53–55 (1999): P 00151940; isolecto: P 00151941). Residual syn: Senegal: Cape Vert, Kounoun, 13 Mar. 1829, G. S. Perrottet 53 & 88 (BM 013726744); Senegal: Cape Vert, Kounoun, 1831, G. S. Perrottet (G); Senegal: 1824, G. S. Perrottet 324 (P 00151942). Descriptions and illustrations Guillemin et al. (1831, pp. 55–56); Andrews (1952, p. 26); Hauman (1963, pp. 117–118); Edmonds (1991, p. 20, fig. 1(8), 2(30)); Wilson (1999, pp. 53–55, fig. 1b); Leistner (2008, p. 115); Mwachala (2009, pp. 39–40); Lejoly et al. (2010, p. 171); van der Burg (2013, pp. 64, 66). Typification Wilson (1999, p. 53) designated a lectotype for Hibiscus rostellatus at P, stating, “The label on the sheet from P reads as follows: ‘Herbarium Richard [red ink] Hibiscus rostellatus Nob. afigurer [black ink] Senegal, Perottet [red ink]’. Additional sheets at BM and G were considered isolectotypes. Further examination of digital images of these, and additional sheets at the same institutions, shows that more than one collection is involved. The lectotype is accepted here but not the ‘isolectotypes’. An additional sheet at P is accepted as an isolectotype. Leistner (2008, p. 115) lists Welwitsch 5243 (BM, K) as the type but there is no direct evidence that this is original material. Distribution Widespread in tropical Africa, in Angola, Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of The Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.